WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the first time in decades, Upstate New York voters are a prize sought by presidential candidates from both parties, who have started tailoring messages to the region on local issues such as fracking and manufacturing jobs.

Some of the candidates even acknowledge the existence of two New Yorks.

Over the next 10 days before the state's April 19 presidential primary, the candidates say they plan to gear their campaigns toward Upstate New York, visiting remote parts of the state as part of a strategy that considers the region as important as New York City and its suburbs.

Since New York is not a winner-take-all state for either party, candidates will look to capture delegates to their national conventions by winning big in each of the state's 27 congressional districts. That's where delegates will be awarded proportionally based on the local vote.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump, a Queens native who lives in Manhattan, plans to visit Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Albany as part of an overall strategy that views Upstate as the key to his success.

Perhaps more than any other candidate, Trump plans to target each of the state's congressional districts with his own micro-campaign, using advertising and direct mail tailored to the issues that resonate with the local electorate, said Michael Caputo, Trump's strategist in New York.

"When you campaign in New York, it really is two different states," Caputo said, referring to Upstate and New York City and its suburbs. "And there are 27 congressional districts, so we are running 27 different campaigns."

Trump leads Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz by more than 20 percentage points in recent New York polls, with a big lead in almost every corner of the Empire State.

But Caputo said that lead in the polls can be deceiving. Trump is aware that he could have a huge win in New York's popular vote in the GOP primary, but still not capture most of the state 95 delegates unless he does well in each of the Upstate districts.

"I don't want to overstate it, but you are looking at your mail decisions and advertising decisions based on those 27 variables," Caputo said. "No other campaign has that. John Kasich and Ted Cruz are still trying to find their shoes here. The fact that Ted Cruz was practically ambushed in the boroughs outside of New York City is testament to that."

Cruz, polling last among the three Republicans in New York, has limited most of his campaigning to New York City and its suburbs so far, where he has met some resistance from those still upset about his comments about "New York values."

The Cruz campaign did not respond to requests for comment about his Upstate strategy.

Kasich, seeing an opportunity to take votes from Cruz, visited Syracuse on Friday and launched his own New York ad campaign. The TV ad uses a recording of Cruz mocking New York values. Kasich then bills himself as someone who can unite rather than divide voters.

"That message works in New York City, and it works in Syracuse and Rochester and every part of the state," said Mike Schrimpf, Kasich's communications director. "It's not a message that you have to change based on the location."

But in a visit to Syracuse on Friday, he also turned intensely local by using the recent success of the Syracuse University basketball teams as a metaphor for America's future.

Kasich also has released a second New York TV ad billing himself as the only Republican candidate, based on nationwide polls, capable of beating the Democratic nominee in November.

Clinton counts on home advantage

Like Trump, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is counting on her knowledge of Upstate New York and familiarity with voters to propel her to a decisive victory over rival Bernie Sanders in the primary.

Clinton will depend on her long-standing campaign structure from her eight years as New York's U.S. senator to help her win over voters in each of the state's 27 congressional districts.

After losing seven of the last eight primaries or caucuses to Sanders, Clinton strategists say she views New York as critical to her path to clinching the Democratic nomination and to build on a wide lead of about 250 delegates. New York has 291 delegates, second nationwide only to California.

Clinton, who made Syracuse her first Upstate stop as part of the primary campaign, has enlisted her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to join by rallying Democratic voters across Upstate New York, where he remains popular.

In Syracuse, Hillary Clinton unveiled her $10 billion "Make it in America" plan to revive manufacturing, and she has called on old friends from Upstate companies to share stories about how she helped expand their businesses.

Sanders will make fracking, jobs an Upstate theme

Sanders strategists say they see the potential for an upset in New York, where Clinton leads by 10 points or more in almost every poll.

The Vermont senator plans to spend a lot of time in Upstate New York, where his strategists say he will campaign in an all-out blitz as though he were running for governor.

"We're competing everywhere," said Sanders spokesman Karthik Ganapathy. "We're not going to write off any part of the state."

Until now, Sanders, a Brooklyn native, concentrated his campaign in New York City. But now he plans to spend next week traveling across Upstate, starting with a rally Monday in Buffalo. His grassroots supporters opened a Syracuse office and plan to march through downtown Syracuse today.

Sanders strategists view his support for New York's ban on fracking for natural gas, and his support for a nationwide ban, as a winning issue with Upstate voters.

"The gubernatorial election in 2014 showed a lot of people that Democratic voters in New York care a lot about fracking," Ganapathy said. "He is for a ban on fracking across the country. And Secretary Clinton, as usual, has a much more complicated answer."

Clinton has said fracking should take place only in communities that support it, when it won't result in water contamination and when drillers fully disclose the chemicals they use.

Sanders believes his message "will resonate with voters who have seen the threat of fossil fuel extraction in their back yards," Ganapathy said.

Both Clinton and Sanders hope to speak directly to many Upstate families by emphasizing their plans to address the region's decades-long decline in manufacturing jobs and economic challenges.

Sanders will highlight his opposition to U.S. trade policies that he says led to job losses across Upstate New York.

Clinton, on the other hand, will emphasize what she views as her successes as a senator in growing the Upstate economy and helping local businesses compete globally.

"We think the more days she can spend traveling across Upstate New York, the more of this story we can tell," said Jake Sullivan, Clinton's senior policy adviser.